The Best Art Avice Ever? I got from Leslie Stroz resuming what I try to apply and transmit from Betty Edwards’ book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. Leslie puts it in a more clear way I think: “Pretent you’re an Alien” !
That means: try prentending to be an alien so you don’t know what you’re drawing, to shut down your left rational side of your brain which makes you draw what you THINK and KNOW instead of what you SEE! Try pretending to be an alien who has never seen these objects before. Focus on the shapes, lines, and spaces without labeling them. This way, you can shut down your brain’s assumptions and draw exactly what you see. That’s actually another way of formulating the tips of betty Edwards 🙂
Our brain makes us draw thinks we don’t see really, because we overthink things, makes us also draw sharp outlines where there are none and where we should paint soft blurry shapes, almost non existent…. If you want your art to look more realistic: draw and paint as if you’re an alien not knowing what you paint, don’t outline everything. Leave blurred and soft areas in your painting.
Don’t let your brain confuse your eyes with it’s knowlegde. A tree is not really “plainly green” leaves with a “brown” tree trunk…. Pay attention also to negative spaces and the values.
If I would had known it when I picked up my brush again after 15 years of abandoning sketching…. It would have saved me years of struggle…
I pay a lot of attention to that in my latest Skillshare Class “Sketching Portugal: Keeping a Travel Sketchbook”
Have you tried it already? I got some great reviews 🙂
I also made some extra video’s in Portugal for my You Tube Channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Here’s one of my favorite sketches I made on my last trip.
Enjoy!
